The legend
of the foundation of Istanbul is derived from classical
mythology: Zeus fell in love with Io, the daughter of
Inachus, King of the City of Argos and God of the River of
Argos. The King of the Gods temporarily transformed the girl
into a heifer in order to protect her from the wrath of his
wife, Hera, Queen of the Gods. In her wanderings Io crossed
the Bosphorus, giving the strait its name (''boos-foros'',''cow-ford'').
After reassuming her original form, she gave birth to a
girl, Keroessa. Later, Keroessa bore the son of Poseidon,
sovereign deity of all waters from the Pillars of Hercules
to the Hellespont. Keroessa's son, Byzas the Magerian, in
time became the founder of Byzantium and named the Golden
Horn ( Chrysokeras ) after his mother.Foundation
of Istanbul
According to the archeological discoveries, Asian side of
Istanbul was probably inhabited by people as early as 3000
BC. Eventually, in the 7th century BC, Greek colonists led
by Byzas established the colony of Byzantium on the European
side at the peninsula, today known as the Seraglio Point,
where the Bosphorus and the Golden Horn meet and flow into
the Marmara ( 667 B.C. ). Another legend has it that, Byzas
chose the spot after consulting Oracle of Apollo at Delphi
who told him to settle across from the "land of the blind
ones." Indeed, Byzas concluded, earlier settlers must have
been deprived of their sight to have overlooked this superb
location at the mouth of the Bosphorus strait. This proved
an auspicious decision by Byzas, as history has shown
Istanbul's location important far beyond what these early
Greek settlers might possibly have conceived.

In the early 100's BC, it became part of the Roman Empire
and in 306 AD, Emperor Constantine the Great made Byzantium
capital of the entire Roman Empire. From that point on, the
city was known as Constantinople.

The mid 400's AD was a time of enormous upheaval in the
empire. Barbarians conquered the western Roman Empire while
the Eastern, also called the Byzantine Empire, kept
Constantinople as its capital. In 532 during the reign of
Justinian I, antigovernment riots destroyed the city. It was
rebuilt, and outstanding structures such as Hagia Sophia
stand as monuments to the heights Byzantine culture reached.

The attribute that made the city so desirable, its
incomparable location for trade and transport between three
continents, was also its nemesis. For the next several
hundred years Persians, Arabs, nomadic peoples, and members
of the Fourth Crusade (who for a time governed the city)
attacked Constantinople.

Ottoman Era

Sultan Mehmet carried
Ottoman vessels over land (from Bosphorus to Golden
Horn) during the conquest of Istanbul

Finally, weakened by almost constant battle, the Ottoman
Turks successfully conquered Constantinople in 1453. Renamed
Istanbul, it became the third and last capital of the
Ottoman Empire. It was the nerve center for military
campaigns that were to enlarge the Ottoman Empire
dramatically. By the mid 1500's, Istanbul, with a population
of almost half a million, was a major cultural, political,
and commercial center. Ottoman rule continued until it was
defeated in world war one and Istanbul was occupied by the
allies.

In the year 1453, the army of Ottoman Sultan Mehmet II
(Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror) conquered the city. The
seventh and final Ottoman siege of Istanbul was carried out
under the command of Mehmet II, the Ottoman Sultan
historically known as Mehmet the Conqueror. Mehmet the
Conqueror had the Rumeli Fortress ( Rumeli Hisari )
constructed on the European shore of the Bosphorus, directly
across from the Anatolia Fortress, thus cutting off all
Black Sea traffic in and out of the city. Nevertheless,
Cardinal Isidore of Kiev, the Pope's envoy, arrived in
Istanbul to seal the union between the Catholic and Orthodox
Churches. This union, proclaimed by Constantinus in Hagia
Sophia ( the Church of Holy Wisdom ), caused unrest among
the devoutly Orthodox Byzantines, and popular opinion swayed
strongly against the Emperor. Meanwhile, Mehmet the
Conqueror moved his galleons over the land by means of
specially constructed sleds and pulleys and the Byzantines
woke up one morning to find the Golden Horn invaded by the
Ottoman navy. Enormous shell-holes were torn in the ramparts
through which the Sultan's soldiers entered the city and, by
means of a temporary bridge built across the Golden Horn,
they crossed into the heart of Genoese Galata. The entire
battle took place between April 6 and May 29, and on this
final day, Istanbul, once the capital of the Byzantine
Empire, fell to the Turks. Mehmet the Conqueror, Sultan of
the Ottoman Empire, was 21 years old and the city was 2120
years old ( 1453 A.D. )first of all, the oldest buildings
and the formerly magnificent but dilapidated city walls were
restored. On the ruins of the Byzantine foundations, the
buildings of the basic institutions of the Ottomans were
built. The great water system with its huge cisterns was
repaired and returned to use. The city had developed its
Ottoman identity, resembling its present character.

With the addition of the buildings of the famous architect
Sinan, the city had again become the capital of a great
empire. Together with the remaining population after the
conquest, people coming from all over the empire, from all
kinds of ethnic origins and religions, created a colorful
mixture. In Istanbul - the new Constantinople - the cultural
variety brought in by the immigrants enriched the cultural
texture of the city. The bedesten where the merchants were
settled and the many han where the craftsmen were to be
found turned into centers that enabled this harbor city to
develop trade with the outside world. Huge markets were
built, further supporting trade. During the period of the
height of Ottoman imperial power, the city was covered all
over with tulips, in what is known as the" Tulip Era." In
the 19th century, efforts modernization were undertaken.
Istanbul entered the 20th century worn out and burdened by
its history as the capital city of three great empires. At
that time, the Ottomans were just about to end their
imperial period of 630 years.

Modern Era

After World War I, resistance movements became active during
the Allied occupation of Istanbul, an occupation that lasted
for nearly five years. When the resistance movement in
Anatolia finally gained success, the last of the foreign
soldiers left the city on October 5, 1923. On October 6, the
Turkish army entered the city heralding the message of a new
government led by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the leader of the
Turkish independence war, and his colleagues had made a
decision in the new National Assembly that Istanbul would
turn over its function as capital of the new nation to
Ankara.
Under republican rule, much new construction activity took
place in Istanbul, starting with the building of family
houses in the 1930s. In 1950s, more than 7300
buildings were torn down and the road system reorganized.
This caused historic changes in the fabric of the city.

"Istanbul (Not
Constantinople)"
by Milan & Phoenix

Famous Istanbul historian Jak Deleon writes about Istanbul
in his book named 'The Bosphorus: A Historical Guide': ''From Byzantium to Constantinople and from then to
Istanbul, this fabled city, divided by the Bosphorus strait,
lies in both Europe and Asia. The European side is separated
into two by a scimitar-shaped gulf called the Golden Horn:
the old town sprawls along one side, with its Byzantine
ramparts and Ottoman palaces facing the Marmara Sea, the
Propontis of antiquity; on the other side, one can see the
ancient Genoese port of Galata and the more modern quarters
beyond, with the legendary Bosphorus winding its way up to
the Black Sea, the Pontus Euxinus of antiquity. It is this
garland of waters which makes Istanbul, whose seven hills
are crowned with imperial monuments, a unique city.

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